New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-05-01
PRINCE WILLIAM.

| HIS CHARACTER AND HIS STORMY YOUTH.
rROx An OCCASIONAL cOnHEsrOSDfsr OF rnf 1anTsh
aCnser Fritz 10 dreadfully supcrstitious The
| idea constantly haunts him that he will never be
| Emperor A premature and sudden end, he thinks
Is in store for him So we'll Is this weakness OF his
known that 10 one belonging to the heirapparents
household would ever venture to refer to the Sub
ect of DEATH OF sickness even In the royal presence
1t 10 not cowardce for on moro than ono battlefield
has the Crown Prince'show that he possesses the
courage Of Hohenzollern 1t Is superstition -
downright superstition, to which he constantly
yields. 1t 10 not necessary to refer here TO those
little tales Of the schooreader variety In which the
Prince, travelling inc0gnito Of course Is repre-
scented as encountering some gypsy bag and hearing
from her lips the omnOus prophecy of short and
inglorious life for they not true, nor are they
based upon anything except the Imagination Of
newspaper correspondents " no find time hsngir
heavily upon their DIS in this dulest OF European
caritals. You need only watch the doings OF the
Grown Princes court to find In them ample Justl-
fcation for the gossip which makes the heir appar
ents peculiar superstition the bugaboo of his house
hold and exposes him TO the ridioule of the irrev-
erent.
Not long ago, for instance. the young Princesses
were taken down with the measles. The precau-
tons resorted to-not much TO secure their sola
ton TO prevent the sickness from reaching their
father-are said to have been almost absurd. hey
made the royal household miserable and life
burden to thu courtiers. Everybody had to be
fumigatcd or had to subject himself to sort of
quarantine before BIO could hope to be admitted to
the royal presence Even husband and wife did not
each other while the sickness lasted, the Crown
Princess preferring to-stay in the sick-room. IN
secluded part of the palace rather than add to her
husbands feeling Of alarm by going about or shar'
in u his company. The entire palace was nut, as 1t
were under minor state of sloge chiefly to ap-
pease the her-apparents superstitious dread of a
sudden end. An unfortunate and indiscreet army
chaplain to whom Unser Fritz y was induced Just
about this time to listen one Sunday, accidentally
referred at the close of his TO tie Angel OF
Death towering over high places" and though he
prayed 18th moro than customary JUNCTION for the
royal family this ocoasion-insplred as no doubt
he was by the presence of one of "God's Own
Anointed he fell soon after into disgrace and his
worldly career as an army chaplain came to a sud-
den and mysterious close
! recall all This because the present sickness of
the Crown Prince, OF which tho cable has undoubt-
eddy informed You already is really believed to DO
more serous than is officially admitted. The throat
trouble from which he is Suffering is nothing less
than q oancerous growth, indications OF which
discovered for the first time about year ago.
and which until recently the genera! public has
been quite ignorant Of The surgeons knife has
already been resorted to to overcome or at least
arrest the progress of the disease but far il
feared with only indifferent Ii is therefore
eSousable though not altogether loyal. if people
bere begin to think than ever of the Crown
Princes eldest son. Prince William. the future
ruler of Germany, and indulge in all sorts OF prog
nostications
Prince William is still young man. lie is in his
twenty ninth year 1t Is difficult therefore. to say
Whist he will become. His character however,
seems already formed and Ii IL undeniab that he
gives promise of being distinguished King. If not
indeed, great rulsr. He differs entirely from his
father In that he has will of his own and do
termination Of purpose which nothing can thwart.
The Crown Prince is easily swayed his household
is nest of intrigue aud dvisers companions arc
thrust upon him, against his will frequently, as if
he were a mere puppet and be is ruled with iron
hand almost by his wife. His son. on the contrary.
has none OF these weaknesses He knows what he
wants. and if he follows the advice of others it is
only because IL meets his views or serves his pur-
pose His Judgment of men and things IS generally
correct and tempered for ono young in q remark
able degree by clrcum spection. He studies effect as
we'll as solf-interest Without much regard for the
feelings of Others ho knows how to latter and dis
simulate when il pays In this way he has man
aged to make himself popular in all Glasses of
society. ae affects q love for tho army aud y
ndored by 1t In return. You do not find this young
scion of royalty at court receptions dnwdlng away
his time with young ladies. On the contrary he Is
always seen in tho company Of gray-haired soldiers
and old generals. whom he looks up TO and to whom
lie listens with a oondescending reverence at once
touching and captivating. No wonder he is the idol
OF army circles. There need DO no fear that tho
army will lose its prestige when he is called to tho
throne. He follows the routine OF tho cup or gar
rison with as much zeal as other young men of his
years or opportunities would the gayeties OF life
He submits to the dreary discipline of military
career with cheerfulness which inspires the rank
and Gle with enthusiasm and commands tho respect
of the entire country. As subaltern officer in the
list Regiment Of the Foot Guards he reports daily
when in garrison to the colonel of The regiment;
drills, inspects and looks after the personal comfort
of his company, and In every other respect assumes
the same duties which would fall to an officer in
the snme station but of less exalted rank.
1 said that Prince William had mind of hls own. |
This is semincntIy true regards tho man agement
Of his own household. His mother, the Crown |
Princess and daughter of Queen Victoria who rules
her husband, thought she would rule. her son rs |
well when the latter grew up to manhood. In this /
she soon found that she was mistaken. Marrying |
her son to poor little second-rate Princess she |
imagined that she would thereby tie the young
couple to her apron strings -much in tho Same
msnner that her mother carries about with her
Princess beatrice and little Batteuberg Prince
William, though marrying in accordance with tho
wishes of his parents drew the lines as soon as the
was performed between flial devotion
md the Independence Of q prospective father and
Emperor with startling distInctness He insisted
upon separate household and separate establish
nent 40 well from the very start. While freeing
his wife, pretty, namby-pamby, but extremely
iull-witted Princess, from the influence of her
nother-in-law, he placed her undof his own domi-
nation TO such an extent as to produce friction aud
cad to much marital unhappiness 1t is no secret
that the young couple do not live happily together
n "A aOr al ITa |